Container cover



NOV 17, 1959 R. l5. vUlLLEMl-:No'r 2,91351'40 coNTANER COVER Filed Jan. 24, 1957 great stability.

United States Patent 'G CONTAINER COVER Robert `P. Vullemenot, Oradell, NJ., as signoi to The Procter `8: Gamble -Company, Cincinnatn'Ohlo, a corporationaof Ohio .Application January24, `1957, Serial'No. v636,06?,

*10 Claims. (Cl. 22060) 'Ihis invention ,relates to a new and useful container cover and more "particularly vto one which is` useful in covering either varsealed orfunsealed container. In covering a sealed container the covertis useful as afmeans to .aid vertically-stacking av-plurality of containers, togprocontainer, a useful canister results.

The present invention, although `particularly useful as apcoverfor .cylindrical ,metal containers, vespecially those now in commercial use can,: of course, be zused-,as a.cover forfa container of any desired shape zcontaining any desired product. The cover of the .present invention hasbeen'found to be particularly useful forshortening containers, but itis not, .by any means,'limited to this specific application.

It is an;object of the vpresent ,invention to 4provide'a ilexiblev container ycover which may be used as a cover for either/.a sealed or unsealed containertwhich has novel features'making. it useful under either condition.

Another object .of the present invention .iis the provision of .a container cover having projecting hand grip means with a .central 'hollow portion beneath the .hand grip me'ans'forming a cavity'togprotectand prevent interference with an opening key, when :attached rto the container lid.

llt isrstill anotherbbject of .the present invention to provide a eXible cover havinglhand gripmeans cX- tendingnohigher thanzth'e topmostprojecting portion of thecover.

Still another object of the invention is vto`;provide :a cover having a chamfered peripheral edge which can 1he':.use'dt'o .'.centerJa -superimposed container having a peripheral projecting bead about the bottom thereof,

.thereby permitting :a plurality-of .containers using the cover of the instant invention @to besta'cked fvertically Still-:another objectv of thelinvention .is to provide a vilexiblei'cover that can 'iberemoved Land replaced with relative ease, :having means iin the covervfor engaging .ridges *or depressions'on the tbody ofthe .container to :provide ra .positive engagement and .a relatively tight @closure Afurther 'objectisthe provision of a container cover .moldedfrom slightly flexiblernaterial in which the cover maybegrasped byithevhandgrip means to lift a full container without accidental dislodgement of the cover.

Briefly stated, in -`accordance 'with' one vaspect of the the general level of the top of cover. .A circumferential chamfered peripheral edge extends around the vdished- 2,913,140 Patented jNov. 17 19,59

:down central portion. `A :downwardly extending skirt dependsfrom-the `edgeof the chamfered peripheral edge to formfa substantially cylindrical side wallfportion, the inner surfaces o'f rwhich are provided withrneans for engaging and grippingthe outer fsurfaees of.a,container Ater which isiregarded .as 'comprising they present invention,

,the invention will'be'better understood `frornzthe .followingr :description taken 'inconnection .with the accompanyping drawing inwhi'ch:

,Figure 1,1 is ;.a:perspective viewoffthe :container cover 'attached to faztypical container.

Figurev 2 isa plan-view, vwith part .broken :away,=:show

.ing the top of the container and cover.

Figure. 3 is `across-section of ther container fand-cover .of .Figure `2 taken along the section line 3--3.

..Figure.4.is.a kcross-section of a-sealed container -an'cl cover takenl along-the section linee-4 offFigure 2, `including an indication of another covered container-upon .which-the first container is stacked. Y

Figure 15 is a sectional vView showing the-coverw-in-place on an open -topped container. l

.Figure 6-is `a sectional Vview showing the gripping actionhereinafter described.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure -l shows a con- -tainer-lG-towhich the cover -11 ofthe-present-invention yis'attached. 'The' cover-11 is preferably vmolded from-a slightlyexibleand chemically-inert plastic material-'such -supplied with-the container for use -as a container cover iafterthe sealed container lid is removed.

The structure and'function ofthecover of thel present invention -will be better. understood by referringv to iFigures-2,3and^4. 'The cover A1-1 has a-central dished-down :por-tontl'Z terminatingatvan-outeredge 41?. A hand Agrip =14iprojects from the dished-down portion l12. Thelhand grip 1-4 -comprises az-pair of upstandingv laterally 'curved 'wallslS and'l-which-project upwardly from the disheddown portion 12. A substantially atand'horizontal' top `vwall `-joins `the -sidebyside upstanding curved Ywalls 15 and i156. LThecurved-walls-15anddtti'and thehorizhontal top wall 17.formthe'hand grip 14 which can 'beuse'd to graspfthe cover P11 ito'carry about kthe *container when container 5:10 and cover "1li Vare in Vengaging,relationship as will-.be presently described. The top surface `of vthe wall 117 :preferably projects Ato a'point no `higher than -the-outer `edge 13 of Athe central ldished-down portion '12.

f .As best-seen in Figures 2,3 Yand 4, the? hand grip "14 has-alhollowed out portion'or-cavity 18 between the side vwalls 15 and16. VThe hollowed Vout portion or cavity '18 -permits the cover `11"to be 4placed on'the container k10-without interfering with a key l9-secured -to-1the top surface of the container lid 20. Containers having keys .aflixedto their -top surface or lids are typically usedfor shortening or coffee. As shown linFigures '2` andY 4V the shank ofkey -19 lies between the walls1i5 and 16. Th'e handle of f the key v19 "is oil? center Vwith respect to the Acenter of the 'container so that su'flicient clearance is rprovided lbeneath the 'hand grip vand the dished-down portion to avoid interference ,with vthe ,shank of ,the key or itshandle.

VA chamfered peripheral edge Z1 extends from the outer edge 13 -ofthe central dished-down portion 12. A de- Y pending skirt 22, extends. downwardly from the ycharnfered peripheral portion 21 to fonnY a substantially cylindrical side wall. A peripheral bead 23 projecting inwardly on the inside of said skirt 22 and near the bottom edge thereof is adapted to engage ridges or depressions on the body of the container when attached thereto as shown in Figure 4. An annular stop 24 near the inside upper end of the cylindrical side wall engages the upper edge of the containeror its lid in order to limit the engaging distance of the cover with respect to the container.

In Figure 4 the cover 11 is shown attached to a typical container 10 having a lid 20 attached thereto. It will be noted that the bead 23 is forced past the ridge 25 projecting from the edge of the lid 2G and frictionally engages the sealed container between the ridge 25 and the second ridge 26. This second ridge 26, near the upper end of the container, is provided to engage bead 23 after the lid has been removed and discarded. The tear strip of the container is normally located between the bead and the bead 26. Thus, the contents of the opened container are protected against contamination by dust, insects, etc. by merely placing the cover 11 over the top of the container 10 and pushing downwardly until the bead 23 slides over the ridge 26. This is illustrated in Figure 5. When the original contents of the container have been removed and the container cleaned, a useful canister is provided.

In some constructions, a tear strip is provided which is not complete circumferentially so that, when the tear strip' is removed, a small portion of the metal remains, hinging the lid to the container body. Such a container is intended to be reclosable; but it sometimes happens that the lid has a tendency to spring upwardly upon reclosure, exposing the contents of the container to dust and air. The cover of this invention, when used with a captive-lid container, has the function of keeping the lid closed and protecting the contents between uses thereof.

Figure 4 also shows the more positive and stable manner in which containers employing the instant invention can be stacked. It will be noted that the container 10 is centered by means of the projecting bead 27 engaging the chamfered peripheral edge 20 of a second cover 11' on a container 10 beneath the container 16. Preferably, the bottom 28 of the container rests upon the top surface of the cover 11 as indicated to provide a substantial support for the superposed container. The bead 27 prevents substantial lateral movement of the container with respect to the cover 11 since it is in relatively snug engagement with the chamfered peripheral edge 20', enabling containers to be stacked, as for example upon grocery shelves,

with great stability.

Another aspect of the present invention is the increased gripping force with which the bead 23 engages the container when lifted by means of the hand grip 14. The cover 11 is made from relatively thin-walled, slightly flexible material so that when the fingers engage the outer surfaces of the upstanding curved walls 15 and 16 the whole cover tends to warp in the plane of the top as illustrated in Figure 6. 'The pressure ofthe fingers is exerted in the direction of the arrows A and B and will be'roughly proportioned to the weight of the container and its contents. The resultant warpage tends to bring points C and D of the bead 23 closer together, thereby increasing the engaging or gripping force exerted by the bead 23 against the container. This feature makes it possible to lift -a filled container or canister by means of the hand grip 14 without loss of engagement with the container as might be expected. Thus, one of the unique features of the present invention is that normal grasp of the hand grip tends to make the cover cling more ten-aciously to the container and permits removal of the container from a shelf or support kby means of the hand grip.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the invention. It is intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A container cover molded from slightly flexible and chemically inert plastic material comprising a central dished-down top portion having a hand grip formed therein, said hand grip formed from a pair of side-by-side upstanding curved walls projecting upwardly from the dished-down top portion and a substantially flat horizontal top wall, the top surface of said top wall being no higher than the outer edge of said dished top portion, a chamfered peripheral edge extending outwardly from the outer edge of said dished top portion, a skirt extending downwardly from said chamfered peripheral portion to form a substantially cylindrical side wall, an annular projecting bead on the inside and near the bottorn'edge of said side wall, said bead adapted to engage ridges or depressions formed on the body of the container, and an annular stop on the inner surface and near the top of said cylindrical side wall, said stop adapted to engage the top edge of a container in order to limit the engaging distance of the cover when engaging a container.

2. The cover claimed in claim 1 wherein said hand grip has a cavity between said upstanding curved walls to permit the cover to be placed on a container having a key secured to its top in order to protect the key without interfering with the key.

3. The cover of claim l wherein the cover is made of material having sufficient exibility to permit warping in the plane of the top thereby increasing the force exerted 'by the bead on the container when lifting the container by means of the cover.

4. A cover for a rigid container, said cover having relatively thin, exible walls and comprising a top and a circumferential skirt depending therefrom to form a substantially cylindrical side wall portion, there being means internally of said side wall portion for engaging the body of said container, said top having a dished-down 'central portion with an integral hand grip projecting upwardlyI therein, said hand grip having two laterally extending side walls and a top wall whereby when pressure is exerted on said side walls, said cover will tend to warp so as to increase its gripping force upon said container.

5. The cover claimed in claim 4 wherein the top of said hand grip is no higher than the outer rim of the dished-down central portion.

6. The cover claimed in claim 5 wherein said means comprise a projecting annular bead on the inner surface of said cylindrical side wall portion.

7. The cover claimed in claim 5 including a hollow hand grip adapted to clear a key secured to the lid of the container.

8. The cover claimed in claim 7 including an annular stop' projecting from the inner surface of said cylindrical side Wall.

9. In combination, a llexible cover for a rigid container comprising a dished-down central portion having a hand grip projecting upwardly therein, said hand grip having two side walls and a top Wall, a chamfered peripheral edge extending outwardly from the outer edge of said central dished portion, a downwardly extending circumferential skirt depending from said chamfered peripheral edge to form a substantially cylindrical side wall v portion and a projecting annular bead on the inner surface of said side Wall portion adjacent its lower edge, and a container which in the closed condition has a top peripheral bead below which said first mentioned bead is engageable, said container having a top removable therefrom along with said peripheral bead, and said container also having a second peripheral bead spaced from the top peripheral bead of said container, said last mentioned bead being engageable by the Abead on said cover after the top of said container has been removed.

l0. The structure claimed in claim 9 wherein said container has a downwardly extending bead at its bottom,

said bead. being engageable with the chamfered periph- 1,979,706 eral edge of the cover of a similar container-and-cover 2,756,793 combination for stable stacking.

References Cited in the le of this patent 5 340,646

i UNITED STATES PATENTS '43657 1,552,134 Frey Sept. 1, 1925 6 Reamy Nov. 6, 1934 Tupper July 31, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Ian. 8, 41931 Great Britain Mar. 4, 1936 

